Tree (Portland, Oregon)

Japan is the birthplace of my great-grandparents. As a child, Iíve seen images of the "motherland" that were placid and peaceful. I learned that can be true, but sometimes, it takes work to experience it. For example, in Portlandís Japanese Garden, I captured this photo by graciously elbowing my way through hundreds of snap-happy tourists surrounding this tree near the entrance of the gardens. I discovered this Zen meditation center was anything but Zen. The only way to take a photo of it without getting the throngs of humanity posing in front of it was to stretch my arms past the security fence to capture the beauty behind it.